Door closer



Aug. 26, 1952 R. s. SANFORD ETAL 2,607,948

DOOR CLOSER Original Filed Sept. 11, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Aug. 26, 1952 R. s. S ANFORD ETAL 2,607,948

DOOR CLOSER Original Filed Sept. 11, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Aug. 26 1952 FIC E [noon oLosEn Roy S. Sanford, Woodhury, and Paul F. Simpson, Washington, Conn, assignots to The Ai toyre Combanyflln'. O tkville, C onn., a corporation of Connecticut r ii t 1 Continuation. .of .application Serial No. 696,232, 7 september'ill, 1946; .This application Deccm-- her 13, 1950, Serial No. 200,619

-9 o'laiins, (01.16-721 The; present invention relates to improvements.

in devices for holding a door alternately in'closed and open positions withoutnecessita'ting the usual type of latches which haveflcustomarily hecn used;

t s u be e 1 V Onjm ny occasions it isnec'essar'y or desirable to hold a door in'an 'op'en'position and'also to holdfitfin a closedpos'itioh. It has been 011s tomary in the pa's'tfto employ automatic door closers working either 'bys'pr'ing's' onpneumaticallviniorder to effect the closing o'f'a door,

usi ally also accompanied by certain devices for" minimizing the siamn in'g v of thef 'door ,anq m efict'itsclosin'g' in a quiet manner.

Therea're, howeven'certain'types of doors. one

example of, which are the doors of medicine cabi net's, where it is very desirable that the door,

which is usually provided with a rniri'orfbe kept in'aclosed position, while underiotl' 'er circun1 stano'es 'it 'is. desirabletohav'e the door sw ng fullyopen so as to aif'ord'access' to the contents might knock things from websites dith; nt k g them from the cabinet.

-The invention, however, isn'otf'li J particular type ofdoor but, merelyi r purposes of exemplification, will be descrihed'i'n' connection therewith? being to keep the, door in substantially opjefipos'i tion, without danger of it suddenly closing. I

A 'fiirther object of the invention is toprov'id" a device which will both limit.the 'extentoi opening of the door while also serving to maintairifit inanopen position. I

Other objects of the invention drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top, plan view, partly insection, ing one modification of the device of thepresen't invention,- withjthe'door in theoopen position:

o wil'lebpeaf'fmil theffurther, (description hereinbelovv when con sidered injconnection with the concl rrently .filed' l closure' link serve It is oneof-the objects of 'theinvent ion to, pro; 30 vide a device which serves a double p rpose; one. I beingj'to maintain the door in a closed condition: withoutthe necessity'for a latch, and the other Fig.2 is a"viewsimilar to Fig. .1; showingjthe j d'clo i e io 'Fji'g. 3, is a vie w's imilar to Figs." 1 and 2, but shown with the door entilfely c1osed;

,Fig, 4 is agpartial elvational viewalso' partlyi positions in Figs-1,2 an 3 in section, of the device illustrated its :Va liQuS Fig.5 showsa topplaf view;partlyjin'sectionff of a' modification of the invention with ,the' d o'or-i in its closed position, and shownin dott partly open posi'tion'; and L Figs. ,6, 7 and 8 are top plan views, tardy 'j sect on, to: aj further modification or the, present invention with the doorshown; respectively iii the, closed, partly opened, and'f illy' opened positions.

;Generally speaking, the constructio'n'involved inthepresent' invention comprises a'd .wh'ich v is, hingedly mounted for the usual swinging move'-, ment'bctween open and closed positions; being" provided also with al s' 'iitable closure link, one end or which s pwomwitoimecma to the door at some point intermediateits vertical edges.' This" open position an prevent' the door] determined p n'pq tio'rfi, while at "the same time a the linkfse'rvejsfa's amazing for kep' fn thetao r closed,- dependene being had upon the resilience, of the material from" whichthe varioiis, part constructed; V i f L" f In one embodiment thelink itself: may be made of a bendable butfresilient or flexible material while in'other 'einbodiments, for eXampleFigsIS through 8, certainresilient"surfacessiich in" the form of a spring or the" like may be 'nfi- 3 some 'femboiiiinents also to ployed, whilethe'link itself is rigid;

tion shownin Fig; 1', orlthe Zc1osdbbsitionshown}:

in; Fig.3, and. the intermediate'po'sition shown i efiiTh'e link Hi my be; provided with a s'iiit th 'to maintain the door in' 1 Swinging beyond" the Dre- 27807!948 l t I: j

Fig. 1, and'then the end 18 inserted into the slot l3, and the link then turned 90 whereafter it is pivoted at the point as already mentioned.

This, therefore, will allow the link it freely to l slide in the slot.

It should be particularly noted that the link M is made of a flexible, bendable, resilient'material which is capable of considerable distortion but sufficiently resilient to againas sulne itsoriginal position when any restraining influence thereon has been released.

ing a permanent bend or knee l9 therein to insure proper'sliding movement of the head end a A diate position shown in Fig. 2, where a maximum [8 along the rear surface ll. When the door is in the completely open position, as shown in Fig. 1, the stop 18 will keep the door from moving any further than theposition at right angles to the' surface Hl'; When, however, the door is moved toward the partially closed position shown in Fig. 2, the end I 8 of the link l 4 slides'freely along the rear surface ll until an intermediate portion of thelinkengage's the end of the slot 13 and continued movement of the door will cause bendins of the link H in the Space'l2 as the end l8 continues to slide along the surface H The link .20 Preferably the link [4 is preformed byprovid- [4 being formed of resilient material tends to re turn to its normal unbent condition andthe force thusgexerted by the link opposes further clos;

ing' movement of the door. However, continued closingmovement of the door from the position shown in'Fig. 2 toward the position shownin Fig. 3 causes further movement of the end i8 of the link along the surface II and further'stressing of the link until a point is reached wherein the angular relation of'the link relative "to the surface]! I. and the point of engagement of the link with'the end 20'of the slot is such that the tendency of the link to straighten out exerts e closing force on the'door 16. Thus the link H as soon as'the door reaches a predetermined position-functions to closethe door and hold it so curely in the closed position. V

In opening the door, it is only necessary to pull the door toward the open position, when a point will soon be reached, corresponding approximately to the position shown in Fig. 2, where door,1ar e spaced apart a 'distance greaterthan the thickness of thelink [4. With such an ar rangementfthe end "it only of the'link'in' movingff; m h p tion shownjin Fig. l to thoseillusg trated'in Figs. 2-and 3, engages only the rear wall I I', while the side of thelink intermediate" its ends engages only the end 20 of slot l3." Since. theaboveengagement is of a sliding neturej'en' the w'allfll and at the end 20 of the slot [3, the link will be bent between the pivot I5 of theend I 8 during movement of the door. As will be perceived from Fig. 2, a maximumfbending of the link occurs when the parts occupy the relative the tendency of the link M to straighten'itself 4 positions shown in this figure which represents an intermediate position of the door. With the spacing of the walls I0 and H as stated, the link is thus stressed during movement of the door to assist or oppose door movement depending on the direction of movement from an intermediate position such as that shown in Fig. 2. In further explanation, it will be understood that during movement of the link, the latter is supported for suclij 'lnbjyenient "at three plaic'lesoi'ily these being the pivot l5 attheouter-endof' the link, the engagement of the wall II with the free end I8 of the link, and the engagement of the front surface of the link with the edge 20 of the slot 13 formed in the wall In and spaced outwardly from wall I la distance greater than the thickness of v "thelink, a'sshown in Figs. 1 to 3. Thus the slot end or abutment 20 serves to stress the entire link by bending that portion between the pivoted end l5 and 'thetfreerend l8 toward the Wall II as the door is moved toolosed or open position. It will hefurther-"understood that as the door It is moved toward closed position from the intermebending of the link l4 occurs, a point will be reached' where the tendency of the link M to straighten out, due to the stresses imparted to i it by the bending thereofjwillovercome thefricg tional force between the en'dlil' and the wall ll.

When this occurs, the link 14 will straighten, the door IB will be automatically closedto the; position shown in Fig. 3 andwill remain in closed position. On the other hand, when the door Hi l's moved toward the open position from the position shown in Fig.2, a point will be reached" where the tendency of the spring Hi to straighten will overcome the frictional force'betweenthe end l8 and the wall ll. When this occurs, the door" will be automatically opened to its full'open position. I

In the modification of the device illustrated in Fig. 5, a door 2| mountedon hinges 22 is spaced in front of a housing 23"having a forward wall 24 and a rear wall25, the forward wall being provided with a slot or opening 26. It is contemplated'that this housing 23 be placed near the upperportion of the door so as no't'to interfere with access to anything which maybe behind it,

otherspace. v

Pivotally secured to the top edge face of. the door 2| at the point2l, is the relatively rigid link being either medicinefcabinet, closet, room. or

28 whichextendsithroughjtheopening 26 into the housi'ng 23 and is in slidable engageme'nt'with the rear wall 25 thereof. The said rear'wall 25,

however, i formed to provide a resilient tongue v or spring 3! along which the free end 29 of'the l llnk zamay slide. The end 29 of the link 28 preferably bent so as to lie; in the closed position, substantially flat against the spring 3],as shown 'class lever with its'fulcruni 33,.to hold the door in theclosed position .When the door, however, is opened and ,gets into the-position whichis shownin dotted lines in'jFi'gfB, the first effect will be to bend the spring 3| outwardly toward "the rear until a point is reached, aboutas shown in zthe drawings, where the spring fil' willexert; a pushing action against the link 28 serving to push it out of the housing impartingv an outward, The door.

swinging movement'to the door 2|. will then be held in that position untilit is dea liberately closed whereupon the link .28 will again move the-spring 3| rearwardlyuntileventually. the spring. will push .the end-29- into the. position shown in full lineszin Fig. 5, thereby. again holding the .door. closed. Y

Ax.further embodiment of the invention :is shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8 and constitutes a construction suitable for heavier doors. In) the con-.

struction; shown in these figures a suitable; door: 34 is hinged to a door frame 35 by means of the.

hinges 36. At the opposite ,sideof the door,-.;and only .along. thepupperv portion thereof, the, door abuts aagainst, a stop member 3l-which extends,

to a ;point.,ab out one-third toon, half way across thewidthof thedoor 34.g

'Ifhe holding andoperatingmean in h s; t f. r on mpri es. a piv t: supportingmemberjfl to which is attached a rod 9. by ea of hesn v t 4. Wh h-I NS is in sliding engagement with the edge 4i of the stop member 31 which forms a fulcrum for the .rod 39.", 'The rod extends: behind the stop; memberal' and is urged thereagainst by means ofa' spr ng 42. which. preferably. takes ,th'elform shownjin .the figure. consisting of a substantially straight portion and ,a curved portion f which again assiimes'a substantially straight continua'-1' tion44. i The free end of the rod 39 'is's'uitably rounded, so that it may freelyjslidefalong the spring 42. This spring'is suitably supportedin a'b'lock 45, but its free end is capable of being moved rearwardly relative to the "door by the free end of the rod 39.

*When the'dooris in the position'shown -in Fig. 6, the end 44 of the spring urges'the-free end of the .rod 39 against the .stopmember 31-.

so. that thevrod .39, acting against the fulcrum 4i will-forcethe door inwardly to a closed positionwithout the necessity of any other holdingmeans. If, now, the door is partly opened as shown in Fig. 7, the end of the rod will push thespring backwardly while at the same time the rodwill slide along"thefulc'rum- 4fl. '.When the door is still further opened the'free" end of the rod moves pastthe shoulder betweenthe flat-end 44 and the curved portion 43 whereupon'the force exerted by the spring on the rod 39 includes a substantial component tending to open thedoorwhereby the :dooris'forcedbythe :spring 42 to the .open position shownin Fig.8..-

gflundamentally the principles. involved in the various embodiments arethe samenamely that eitherfa link I4 or, or rod 39 is used alternately tokeepjithe dom. O en and closed- In the con-- struetionshown infFigs l, 2, s andfithe link itself is resilient or' flexible, that i's ..to say, Of a spring'y nature, 'whilej'in the construction shown infifigsLqB through 8 a separate spring is relied upon to exert the desired force. "In allicons'tructions the link or rod operates in a suitable housing whichis preferably near the top of thedoor spring steel while in the constructionshownin Figs. ,;5; through8 the rod may be made of any: suitable. material, eithermetallic. wood, plastie,

orthe'like.

While we have;

'h i b m w neries; liii i mi i lks i ei ia J l of thesioor:

soth'ati-freeaccess can be'had 'to any-thing normally concealed by the door. The material-which maybeused forzthe purpose of constructing the: link 14.; may be a suitably tempered; metal or.

Y ing'the door in-open or ClOSBdDOSltlOIl. and operthat we.do -not wish to be limitedthereto since", many modifications may bemade, and we, there; fore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover anyfisuchsmodifications as fall within the true spirit-and scope of our invention.

This application is a continuation .ofqour plicationSerial Number 6536;232 filedseptember.

11,;i6,-,now abandoned. :5; Y

Having thus described our invention, what we 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. In a doorconstructionhaving a frame and a door hingedly mountedthereon, a device for; holding the door in open or closed position andv operable xupon movement of the door-from. an-

intermediate position toward open or closed position to .urge thedoortoward a corresponding position,:'.comprising an elongated link member having :one :end thereof :pivotally connectedto thedoor; the -other end of the link being free, means providing an elongated surface member along which-the free' 'endonly of the hnk'mem ber slides as the-door is'moved to=an'open or; closed position, astationary abutment carried Y by the frame and positioned adjacent the door when the latter is closed, said abutment being spaced from said surface member a distance greater than the thickness ofsaid linkmember and being positioned to slidably engage the linkmember intermediate the ends thereof as the door is moved to open or closediposition, the link member extending through the space between'the abutment and thesurface-member and having its free 1 end only-slidably engaging the surface member and-with the link arranged at an acute angle with respect to said surface member atlall times during opening and closing of the door, at" least'one of said members'being resilient to stress 1 the link-jdurin'g movement of the door toward open or'closed'position'.

coca ne other end ofth'e link being free, a member carriedby the frame and providing a surfaee along which thefree end only of the linkv slides as'th'e dooris moved to ano'pen or a cios'eepesig tion, and means for bending the: entire linkbetween' its pivoted end and its free end to stress the link during movement of the door, comprising I a stationary abutment carried by the frame andv spaced from said surface a distance greater than] the thickness ofsaid link, said abutment'being positioned to slidably engage the. linl'c' 'iriter mediate the ends" thereof as the dooris moved' .to open or'cl'osed 'positiomand'to effect a"maxi-' mum bending of the link when the door is man intermediate position, the tendency of thelink to assume a straightened position due to the stress imparted thereto by the bending thereof effecting an'automatic closing-0r opening of the door when the latter ismoved toward closing or opening) position from said-intermediate position. 7

3. In a door constructionhaving a frame and a door hingedly mounted thereon, a device for-hold:-

able upon movement of the door from an intermediate position toward open or closed posi- .tion to urge the door toward a corresponding position, comprising-arr elongated spring link 7,, having one'end thereof pivo'tall'y connected-to thedoor, the other end of thelink being free, means carried by said frame to provide apair of spaced apart front and 7 rear walls positioned substantially parallelt'o each other and' substantiallyparallel with the door when the latter is closed; the front wall' having an elongated slot formed therein, said slot provided with opposite edges, and the distance between said walls and the length of'said sl'ot being greater than the thickness of said link, the free end of the link pas'singthrough the slot to engage only the rear wall as'the door is opened-and closed, the edge of the slot more remote from the hinged mounting constituting a stationary abutment slidably engaging the link during movement of the door,;said

abutment being positioned to bend the link between said one end and said other end toward said rear wall a maximum amount when the door is moved to said intermediate position to stress thelin k the tendency of the link to straighten out due to the stress imparted thereto due to bending, thereof,--overcoming the frictional force between the free'end of the link and said rear wall ,to automatically impart a closing or an openingforce to the door as the latter is moved toward a closed or opened position from said intermediate position. e

4.;In a door construction having a frame and a door hingedly mounted thereon, a device for holding the door in open or closed position and operable upon movement of the door from an intermediate position toward open or closed position to urge the'door toward a-wcorresponding position, comprising an elongated spring link having one end' thereof pivotally connected to the door, the'other end of the link being free, means carried by said frame to provide a pair of spaced apart front and rear walls positioned substantially parallel to each other and substantially parallel with the door when the latter is closed, the front wall having an elongated slot formed therein, said slot provided with opposite edges, and the distance between said walls and the length of said slot being greater than the thickness of said link, the free end of the link passing through the slot to engage only the rear wall as the door is opened and closed, the edge of the slot moreremote from the hinged mounting constituting a stationary abutment slidably engaging the link during movement of the door, said abutmentbeing positioned to bend the link between said one end and said other end toward said rear wall a maximum amount when the door is moved to'said intermediate position to stress the link, the tendency of the link to straighten out due to the stress imparted thereto due to bending there.

of, said front wall to prevent opening of the door beyond a predetermined maximum amount and to allow sliding movement of the link in said slot to a position where the link engages the edge of the slot which is closer to the hinged mounting.

5. In a door structure having a-door frame and a door having a hinge connection therewith, means for holding said door in closed position and for resiliently opposing opening movement thereof comprising a wall on the door frame substantially" parallel with the door. in closed position,

an abutment on said frame spaced outwardly from said wall, and a spring link extending lue-.1 tween said door and wall having a pivoted con-. nection at oneend with thedoo-rand b'eingislidable at the other end only on the rear. side thereof along the wall, and having the ,entire link between said ends spaced outwardly from said 1 walland angularly disposed with respect thereto, with the front side of the link intermediate the ends in sliding engagement with said abutment, said abutment being positioned to bend'said link' between the ends toward said wall with the door in closed position and during movement toward open position. I

6. In adoor structiirehavin'g a door frame and-. a door having a hinge connection therewith, means for; holding said; door in closed position and for'rsiliently opposing-opening movement of said door, comprising a link'having a pivoted'con nection-a-t one end withsa'iddoor, and means for stressing the entire link between the ends thereof to exert a closing force on the door at said pivoted connection comprising an abutment on said frame slidably engagingjth'e link intermediate the ends thereof on the side adjacent said door, and

awall on, said framei spaced rearwardly from said abutment a distancegreater than the thickness of said link; with. the other endfonly' of said link being slida'ble along said 'alIasthe door is openedand closed and the wall being an gularly, disposed to the link at said'oth'er endj, '7. A door constructionof the character set forth in claim lwherein the surface member :is re sil ient to stress the link during movement ofv the door toward open or closed position. I j e 8. A door construction of the character set forth in claim 7 wherein the elongated surface member constituted by: a rear wall carried by" the frame, and 'theiabutment is constituted by oneedge of a slot which is formed in a frontwall carried by the'frame, said frontand rear walls bein parallel and being spaced -a1:\ar-t a distance greater 'than the thickness of thelink member.

9. In a doorrconstructionJha ingaframe-anda door hingedly mountedithereon, a 'deviceforhold-fl ing the doorJinopen or closed position and oper able uponmovementof. the door from aninter mediate position toward open or closed position to urge the door toward a. corresponding position,

comprising an elongated spring link having: one end thereof pivotally connected to: the door; the other end of the linkibe'ing'free, apair of spaced apart frontand rear walls carriedby said frame and positioned substantially para'lle with "the f doorv Whenthe latter is in ficlosed position, 'said front wall having an elongated slot therein pr'o- V vided with opposite edgesfthefre end of said link passing through "the .slot and slidaloly engaging ing positioned to slidably engage the'linkginterf mediate, the ends thereof as the door is moved to "open orpclosed ,position 'to bend the entire. portion of the link extending between the ends 9 thereof toward said rear wall when the door REFERENCES CITED is in an intermediate position and during move The following references are of record in the ment in either direction therefrom, and a, stop file of this patent: formed on the free end of said link and engageable with the rear surface of said front wall for 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS limiting the opening movement of the door. Number Name Date Y S SAN O 71,478 Gould Nov. 26, 1867 l UL i sIMPso'rI. FOREIGN E T 10 Number Country Date 40,744 Austria Jan; 25, 1910 

